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A Binghamton worker at the state Department of Transportation has been charged with stealing scrap metal, selling it and keeping the cash, said Acting State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott.

Rocco Ranucci, 55, of Vestal, Broome County, was arrested Thursday and arraigned in the Town of Kirkwood Court, Scott said.

He was charged with three counts of petit larceny and one count of official misconduct. He faces up to one year in jail, she said.

“State employees are prohibited from taking public property, plain and simple,” Scott said in a statement. “Taxpayers have every right to expect the items and services they pay for are used by the public and not sold by state employees for private gain.”

The investigation found that from May through July, Ranucci allegedly removed scrap metal from the facility and sold it to a local scrap yard.

Ranucci had worked at DOT since 2008, earning a $32,974 salary. Scott said Ranucci admitted to investigators that he sold the materials for personal gain.

It’s unclear whether he’s still employed at the agency. DOT is investigating.

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